Free Catnip by J.S. Frankel

some kind of laboratory with dull yellow lights. There was
wood all around, perhaps walls or perhaps a cage. She remembers
some kind of large animal-man. That is all.”
    Harry recalled her words. The images she said
she had seen—had they been real or just implanted memories? He
didn’t know. The doctor sat back and Harry, not knowing what else
to do, went over to Anastasia’s side. Tentatively he reached out
and put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
    She didn’t respond to his touch, just sat
there, mute and unresponsive. Farrell took it all in and his face
remained impassive. Harry thought he was either colder than a dead
fish or a total jerk. Given the choice, he’d go with the latter.
For now, though, he concentrated on the girl near him.
    Finally, the agent turned to Oleg and asked,
“So is she a spy or what?”
    The other man shrugged and threw up his
hands. “I do not know. It is obvious that there has been some kind
of experimentation done. I had heard of such things going on, but I
was never part of it. My branch was into espionage and I was doctor
in charge of healing wounded agents, helping to debrief them
through hypnosis after they had returned from mission. This is
something new to me.”
    “But how did she get here, and why does she
speak English so well?” Harry wanted to know. He’d seen the
truth—or part of it, anyway—but didn’t really get the entire
scenario.
    Oleg shook his head. “That I do not know,
either. Whoever brought her here could have had her smuggled in on
a freighter, or perhaps she grew up here and was kept inside all
this time. I cannot tell you. Much of our research was classified,
and we were put on—how you say it—need-to-know-basis?”
    Farrell nodded. “Continue.”
    The doctor indicated Anastasia with a wave of
his hand. “All I know is that she had been put under some kind of
hypnotic control before. In KGB, we often used drugs such as
Temazepam, sodium pentothal, acetylcholine which helps block
memory, and other narcotics, along with sensory deprivation and
shock treatment.”
    He spoke very casually about the experiments,
as if describing how to dissect a frog. Perhaps Anastasia had heard
or perhaps her mind woke up from the hypnotic trance, but whatever
the case, she started to shake and Harry clumsily put his arms
around her as a gesture of support. She broke down and wept, and
this time she clung to him as a person would cling to a life vest
to keep from drowning. The whole idea of experimentation pissed him
off more and more by the second. They’d ruined her life! “Nice to
know you care so much about your people,” he said.
    Oleg snapped, “It is what we did. I did not
like taking part in it then and I take no pride in it now. It was
something we did in order to make spy, and I am sure your people
performed same tests on their spies.”
    “Let’s pigeonhole that for now,” Farrell cut
in. His voice sounded raw and tired. It seemed that all he wanted
was the correct answer, and he wanted it now. “Is there any way you
can unlock her mental blocks?”
    The other man shook his head. “I would have
to say no. There may be key word or key phrase or number which will
cause her to open up. It may also cause her mind to collapse. Our
people were always made aware of penalty for talking to foreign
governments, and KGB made sure they would not talk. In any case,
there could be one word or any number of words or numbers, but I do
not know which ones. It might take hours, days, even months to
unlock secrets, if there are any.”
    Farrell rubbed his face tiredly. “Would you
suggest any kind of drug use now?”
    Oleg shook his head. “No, I would not. It is
too great a risk. I ask you, though, if we could do more hypnosis
later on. It might help loosen mental blockage.”
    The man in black uttered a few expletives in
frustration, but then his tone softened somewhat. “We’d appreciate
the cooperation, Oleg.”
    “I will do my